Sponsored By

Triangle Tool Corp. takes home moldmaking honorsTriangle Tool Corp. takes home moldmaking honors

The Leadtime Leader Awards are presented to recognize outstanding mold manufacturing companies that have demonstrated an ability to be successful through their commitment to technology, innovation, growth strategies, and industry involvement. The Awards were presented at the PDx/Amerimold trade show held in Cincinnati, OH.

Clare Goldsberry

May 18, 2010

3 Min Read
Plastics Today logo in a gray background | Plastics Today

The Leadtime Leader Awards are presented to recognize outstanding mold manufacturing companies that have demonstrated an ability to be successful through their commitment to technology, innovation, growth strategies, and industry involvement. The Awards were presented at the PDx/Amerimold trade show held in Cincinnati, OH. This year, the Leadtime Leader Award in the large-shop category went to Triangle Tool Corp. (Milwaukee, WI), which specializes in injection, SMC and BMC compression, structural foam, and blow molds for large plastic parts. Triangle Tool specializes in large molds, some weighing over 100,000 lb.

The team at Triangle Tool Corp.

“This is a real tribute to the employees of Triangle Tool, who make sure our customers’ demands are met and deliveries are on time,” said Victor Baez, technical sales manager, who accepted the award on behalf of Triangle Tool. “We are very proud to be recognized as the industry leader in large-part mold building.”

Triangle Tool was founded in 1963, and was purchased by current owner, Roy Luther, in 1982. Currently the company has 138 employees and serves the non-automotive industrial markets and the large-appliance (white goods) market.

AMBA member Mold Craft Inc. (Willernie, MN) won the Leadtime Leader Award in the small-shop category. Justin McPhee, VP of engineering for Mold Craft, and Tim Bartz, VP of operations, accepted the award. Mold Craft has been in business for 46 years, and attributes its success as a mold manufacturer to the company’s ability to design for manufacturing and building tight-tolerance molds with repeatability, along with the implementation of automation to help reduce lead times. “It’s the automation that’s allowed us to grow, even in the down times,” said McPhee. 

McPhee noted that the company added a Micron 350 and Micron 500 from AgieCharmilles, and robotics from Erowa over the past year, something that helped Mold Craft maintain its competitive edge and profitability during the downturn.

Mold Craft builds high-volume, multicavity molds, and multimold projects that produce small, intricate, precision plastic parts. The company’s strength is in designing and building molds that require extensive engineering using tightly toleranced CNC machining, CNC sinter, and EDM work. The company serves the consumer products, electronic/electrical, and medical markets. Pete Manship is the president of Mold Craft and is a past president of the American Mold Builders Assn.

Honorable Mentions were also awarded. In the large-shop category, honorable mention went to H.S. Die & Engineering (Grand Rapids, MI), also an AMBA member company. With 285 employees, the company designs and builds injection, compression, two-shot, stack, RIM, structural foam, and blow molds for industries such as aerospace, agricultural, defense, electric power generation, automotive, and medical. The company also performs mold tryouts and part production with 3300-ton press capacity.

CS Tool Engineering Inc. (Cedar Springs, MI), also an AMBA member company, received an honorable mention in the small-shop category. With an average lead time of 10-12 weeks, the company specializes in building injection and compression molds, and performs services such as precision machining, TIG and laser welding, gun drilling, Mold Flow, and project management for the automotive, furniture, aerospace, and consumer goods markets.

Don Snow, operations manager for CS Tool Engineering, accepted the award, and noted that the company has had the same owners for 43 years, and employs 40 people in its 40,000-ft2 facility. “We have a can-do workforce with a lot of talent,” said Snow. “Anyone can buy technology, but what counts is how you use it. You use it and challenge yourself. In today’s business environment you must play for the win, not the tie.” —Clare Goldsberry

About the Author

Clare Goldsberry

Until she retired in September 2021, Clare Goldsberry reported on the plastics industry for more than 30 years. In addition to the 10,000+ articles she has written, by her own estimation, she is the author of several books, including The Business of Injection Molding: How to succeed as a custom molder and Purchasing Injection Molds: A buyers guide. Goldsberry is a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. She reflected on her long career in "Time to Say Good-Bye."

Sign up for PlasticsToday newsletter

You May Also Like